Home Of The Brave Character Analysis Essay

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Though Home of the Brave does not embody an archetypical antagonistic character, it does characterize and depict two main adversaries that represent the opposition and tribulations against which the protagonist, Kek, must contend with. To illustrate, it can be deemed that the setting portrays an antagonistic role, as the entire environment surrounding Kek, from the violence and war in Sudan that claimed the lives of his father and brother, to the struggles and tribulations of being in a new land, where the language and people are unfamiliar and extrinsic - are often challenging and arduous. Specifically, whilst Kek was still in Sudan, his camp was attacked by terrorists and government men - forcing him to flee and leave behind his family in the midst of …show more content…
[...] How can I miss a place of such pain? I wonder./It doesn’t make sense./And yet there it is./What I miss/is the time before the pain.” (pgs. 204-208) In this quotation, Kek is experiencing the disconcerting displacement that comes with being an immigrant, as well as a refugee. Though he is grateful to be with his aunt and cousin, away from the violence, war, and poverty in Sudan, Kek often feels guilt and emptiness, as well as loss, at living in a country so distant from his own. Everything, from the people, places, and language is extralocal and alien, often leaving Kek feeling out of place as he struggles to be concurrent with his new home; it may not be conspicuous that even this environment takes on an antithetical role, one in which, even with its eminence, often hinders and disconcerts him. Not only did Kek have to flee from the home he grew up in, leaving behind his family in the process - he was compelled into a new country with anomalous people and languages, with which he struggled to fit in and coincide